The Mycological Society of San Francisco • Dec. 2015, vol. 67:04

Table of Contents Mushroom of the Month by K. Litchfield 1 Mushroom of the Month: Quick Start Forays Amanita muscaria by P. Koski 1 The Santa Mushroom, Fly Agaric President Post by B. Wenck-Reilly 2 Hospitality / Holiday Dinner 2015 4 Ken Litchfield Culinary Corner by H. Lunan 5 Brain Chemistry by B. Sommer 6 This month’s mushroom profile is one of my favorites, De- Mendo 2015 Camp by C. Haney 7 cember’s Santa mushroom. While prevalent at other times MycoMendoMondo by W. So 9 of the year in other places with more extensive rainy sea- Announcements / Events 10 sons, in the SF bay area the height of its season is the holi- 2015 Fungus Fair poster & program 11 days. One of the most elegant, beautiful, and recognizable Fungal Jumble & Gadget Obs by W. So 14 mushrooms in the world, the Santa mushroom is not only Cultivation Quarters by K. Litchfield 15 cosmopolitan and common, it is rich in lore and stately in Mushroom Sightings by P. Pelous 16 demeanor, yet cuddly and not lugubrious, just like Santa Calendar 17 himself. Decked in cheery cherry red and decoupaged with puffs of fluffy white, the Santa’s cap jingles atop its ivory bearded veil leading down the long white chimney stipe to Urban Park Quick Start Forays the skirty cummerbund constricting the top of the bulbous November 14 Quick Start Foray Report jolly belly. by Paul Koski One of the many There was hope for finding lots of fungi after fruits of the roots a couple of rainy days in the week before the foray but of the pine, the after some preliminary scouting in Golden Gate Park, Santa’s red and not many mushrooms were showing up. Nevertheless, white stop sign hohohoheyheyhey on Saturday morning a dozen or so foragers met near heralds from a dis- the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park and then spread tance the nearby out to see what we could find. We were rewarded by presence of its as- Amanita muscaria © Fred Stevens scrutinizing shady, moist habitats in the park that sociated shy porky produced more than a dozen species of fungi. Some little porcini buddy, drably disguised mushrumping among the pine needles -- the most tabloid-worthy mushroom of the more easily identified finds were shaggy manes couple in the world. There they hang with an entourage of Coprinus comatus, the yellow staining Agaricus xanth- other semifamous fungi further down the alphabet of celeb- dermus and its close relative Agaricus californicus, the rity lists like matsies, men-on-horseback, delicious slippery coastal Agaricus bernardii, deer mushrooms Pluteus jacks and their hangers-on, the pine spikes. cervinus Armillaria mel- growing on buried wood and Not only is the Santa mushroom one of my favorites, it’s lea, honey mushrooms also fruiting from buried wood. one of the world’s favorites. From kitchykoo knickynacks at Other less identifiable (for us novice foragers) doilyworld.com to coo-coo theories about legendary origins included delicate Mycena, Coprinopsis and perhaps for the icons of religion, ecstasy, and gift giving, the Santa Parasola species growing in moist compost under the mushroom’s distinctive look and inherent pharmacology is loaded with wazoo volumes of scrumptious lore. shade of plants. Cryptosporus was reported on a fallen tree and a there were few other odd & interesting but Perhaps you’ve heard of the two constituents or “toxins” in unidentified finds. All in all, it was a fruitful morning its sap, ibotenic acid and muscimol, that when its flesh is & added to our knowledge of local urban park fungi. eaten the first toxin is converted into more of the latter by The next Quick Start Foray the mammalian physiology so that the urine excreted by the eater is more “toxic” yet desirable than the original mush- Continued on page 3 Mycena News, December 2015 Page 2 President’s Post Hello MSSF Members,

Wow, it is dry out there! So far we are at half of our normal rainfall for the current season, and at only 1/3 our normal rainfall for the year (See Almanac). Let’s hope we get something very soon. Nonetheless, we did get a rather good show of diversity at the annual Mendocino Camp. I heard a rumor that there were about 120 different species collected during the weekend, however there was not an abundance of any particular species (with the exception of two very healthy finds ofSparassis and Laetiporus made by Amanda Owen- Walkup). The mushrooms are out there, just not in notable supply. In addition to several forays, Katrina Blair and Gary Lincoff gave two informative and entertaining talks on mushroom foraging. I want to thank the staff and volunteers for making this year’s camp possible. Special thanks go to Mendocino Camp Director Curt Haney for making this November Fungal Jumble Answers another wonderful and highly regarded event. “Forays, Food, and Fun” will be sure to describe Mendocino Camp as long as Curt is at the helm. Next year Curt has lined up Larry Evans to be our guest speaker, so be on the lookout for more information on next years event come early September of 2016. In upcoming events the annual MSSF holiday dinner will take place on Monday, December 14th. Please go to www. mssf.org to register for a spot, as MSSF member Eric Multhaup is preparing an amazing menu with Chefs Michael Polite and Michael Brady of Vin Antico Restaurant in San Rafael, CA. Bring a friend, some dishware and a little holiday cheer as we share in some end of the year revelry. The annual MSSF Fungus Fair is also upon us; it is scheduled for December 6th at the San Francisco County Fair Building, in Golden Gate Park. Stephanie Wright and Jackie Shay have been doing a great job setting up this year’s lineup, so please help out by either volunteering at the Fair or spreading the word via friends, fliers, and social media. This is one of the MSSF’s biggest fundraisers, so all your help is needed and very appreciated. To register as a volunteer, go to mssf.ivolunteer. Photo by Eric Multhaup com There will be much more in store after the Fungus Fair and holidays, so be sure to keep up to date with the MSSF’s activities by coming to general meetings, following our Yahoo group, or joining in on a foray. The rain will be sure to bring multitudes of mushroom possibilities. Thanks again to all of you who continuously contribute to make the MSSF a great organization. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Fungus Fair, the holiday dinner, and many other MSSF events.

-Brennan Wenck-Reilly Mycena News, December 2015 Mushroom of the Month continued Page 3 room. If the excreter be a human, the resultant yellow snow is such a great attractant for any reindeer in the vicinity that they supposedly trample the pee-er to get to the snow. Makes you wonder why anyone leaves red and white icing cookies around the base of the fireplace holiday pine to trap Santa when you could just eat this mushroom and pee on the roof for his reindeer. Surely the resultant prancing and pawing would pause St. Nick. Now there’s a holiday tradition. Perhaps you’ve heard that these mushrooms, provided by a Siberian welcoming party, were a favorite unprovable yet suspicious murder technique in the offing for naïve revolutionary Bolshevik commissars sent by Moscow to overlord the Siberian locals -- death by reindeer trampling. Or maybe you’ve heard the tale of the tzarist onepercenters who would eat recreational quantities of these mushrooms in their pal- aces and venture out to the Moscow street curbs, to trickle down their benefits to the groveling Rus riff-raff that collected the flows in bowls and cups. So arose the term “peons” for the 99ers. Maybe you’ve heard about the stories of this mushroom and its influ- ence on the beginnings of Christianity. Or the pillaging of the Vikings. Or the visions of Soma. There is a mini industry of books touting the lore of the Santa mushroom throughout the history of its use in various parts of the world, which you can google to fill your leisure time for Amanita muscaria © Michael Wood months and years to come. At this point whether each of these stories has credibility no longer much matters, as the mushroom has tran- scended the credibility of its storytellers to embody them all. Due to some of the constituent toxins like ibotenic acid, muscimol, and muscarine this mushroom is some- times characterized erroneously as deadly, when most of this reputation is unverifiable. Perhaps the average adult would have to eat over a dozen of them to be at any real risk, not a very realistic likelihood considering its raw flavor fresh or dried. And those trying to get high usually don’t need more than a half a cap to two or three to be plenty distracted by side effects of nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, sweats, chills, delirium, mood changes, euphoria, depression, sleepiness, excitement, salivation, cotton mouth, lack of physical coordination, blurred vision, auditory and visual hallucinations, and amnesia. However, properly prepared the Santa mushroom is actually a great edible. I think it tastes better than any of the other Amanitas including the coccora and the spring amanita. You can google the paper by Rubel and Arora that discusses the history of the edibil- ity of Amanita muscaria and follow the sometimes elaborate recommen- dations for preparation from earlier times. However, Arora has a simple parboil twice and discard the water method that he has used many times safely. We have prepared this mush- room many times at MycoMendo- Mondo with a simple single 10-min- ute boiling and then sautéing similar to southern style poke salad. It has the nutty flavor and fine texture of a top- notch edible with no more care needed in prepping than the potentially deadly poisonous morel. If you would like to partake of this mushroom during your holidays, slice two to three average sized mush- rooms about an eighth to a quarter inch thick and toss into a pot of three to four times as much volume of roiling boiling water, for about ten minutes. Then strain out the mushroom slices and sauté them in butter until lightly browned (important because the mushroom takes in water after boiling), and add salt and pepper to try them for their own flavor. You could toss the now reddish water or, if you like, you could drink various amounts of it on an empty stomach to see your reaction to the water soluble constituents. They aren’t heat sensitive like chicken-of-the- woods, so the water retains any of the inebriating effects -- as well as the side effects. And if you would like to grow these beautiful mushrooms in your back yard, be sure to plant one or more of the little living holiday Italian stone pines that make pignolias that you find in the nursery section of drugstores, hardware stores, or big box stores, discounted right after the holidays. You can add a little mixed forest action with doug fir, birch, or Cedrus deodara, all decorative in their own right. Check the Cultivation Quarters in this month’s MN for the details on how to cultivate mycorrhizal mushrooms like the Santa mushroom. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 4 Come Celebrate the Holiday Season at the MSSF Holiday Dinner! Monday, December 14 at the San Francisco County Fair Building, aka the Hall of Flowers, at 9th Avenue and Lincoln Way. The cost is $40 for members, $45 for guests, and $20 for children under 14. Registration is on the MSSF website only, beginning November 1. Menu by Chefs Michael Polite and Michael Brady of Vin Antico Restaurant in San Rafael, CA. Appetizers - Please bring an appetizer for the appetizer buffet table. This year there will be three awesome prizes awarded by distinguished judges. Holiday Eggnog (alcoholic and non) First Course - Candy cap mushroom bread pudding toasts with truffle duxelles Main Course – Porcini crusted filet mignon with morel cream sauce; celery root purée and truffled cauliflower; or vegetarian option upon request: herbed winter squash with mushrooms Multi-colored carrots and broccoli rabe with lobster mushrooms, white wine sauce and shaved Parmesan; Brown rice risotto (gluten free) with mushroom brodo, mixed mushrooms, crispy shallots, Bloomsdale spinach Dessert - Porcini dusted tiramisu New raffle format with prizes donated by Sue Fisher King (www.suefisherking.com if you are not familiar with the store) * Vin Antico is a farm-to-table restaurant well-known in Marin County for innovative mushroom dishes. The Holiday Dinner Committee is looking for two volunteers to do the heavy lifting part of the set-up and take-down, plus some help in serving, for a free dinner. If interested, e-mail Eric at [email protected].

Hospitality

The Hospitality Committee gives a shout-out to guest chef Sarah Ruhs for the October meeting.

Sarah made a flavorful mushroom quiche that was cleverly presented in bite-sized pieces. The ingredients were shiitake and trumpet mushrooms, cheese, eggs, milk, sage, salt, pep- per, butter, and puff pastry. Photo by Eric Multhaup

YOU TOO can be a guest chef for a hospitality hour. Just e-mail George at george_willis@sbc- global.net, or Eric at [email protected]. You will have an $80 food budget from the MSSF, and Hospitality Committee members available for advice and support. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 5 Culinary Corner MAITAKE, PANCETTA AND PORT-SOAKED by Heather Lunan CHERRY STUFFING

The MSSF Culinary Group November Ingredients: dinner was an All American Feast, and we did - 9 cups of cubed artisan bread with a sturdy crust (a 22 oz. loaf) feast heartily. Attendees brought a vast array of - 1/2 cup ruby port mushroom-themed appetizers to pique our appe- - 1/2 cup dried cherries, unsweetened tites for the delights to come. - 1 Tbl. fresh sage, minced, plus 3 whole leaves Team Captains Bill and Carol Hellums - 1 Tbl. sea salt, plus more organized a splendid repast for the evening. Bill Hellums smoked beef tenderloins over mesquite - 1/4 pound pancetta (or bacon), unrolled and diced wood until they were just rare and supremely ten- - 4 Tbl. unsalted butter, plus more to butter the casserole der. The beef was paired perfectly with a rich - 2 large yellow onions, diced small mushroom gravy by Toni Kiely. - 6 stalks celery, diced small The vegetarian entrée by George Col- - 1/3 cup dry white wine or vermouth lier was a savory stew of white beans, leek, garlic, - 1 pound fresh mushrooms, use 1/2 maitake and 1/2 crimini or chanterelles, and gold and black trumpets, and garnished with shaved Parmesan, vegan mustard the mushroom of your choice, sliced mayo, or crema fresca. Carol Hellums served - 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley tender baby potatoes in butter with fresh parsley - 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and marjoram handpicked from her garden. Pat - 2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced George transformed a full bushel of fresh spin- - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste (I use less) ach and “lots and lots” of cream into a decadent, - 3 large eggs, beaten (I omit and add 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream) creamed spinach. Al Carvajal presented refined - 3 – 4 cups mushroom or turkey stock carrots in lashings of butter, fresh dill and per- fumed with powdered candy caps. Jon Harman - Ground black pepper tossed a delightful salad of spring greens and Method: shaved vegetables in his homemade honey Dijon Heat the port in a saucepan and add the cherries, 3 whole vinaigrette. Catherine Ung baked her famed lus- sage leaves and a pinch of salt and let simmer until the liquid is most- cious pear and blueberry cobbler with a cornmeal topping, and served with Mitchell’s vanilla ice ly absorbed. Discard the sage and remove from the heat. cream, all washed down with hot decaffeinated Preheat the oven to 300 F and spread out bread cubes on a coffee and teas by Carol Reed. The dinner was baking sheet in one layer, bake for 30 minutes to dry out the bread. the utmost in luxury on a mild fall evening. You can also leave out the bread for a day or two on the baking sheet until the cubes have dried, then store in plastic bags. Raise the oven to 400 F. In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the pancetta and cook until browned and crisp. Remove to a plate, leaving the fat in the skillet. Add 1 Tbl. of butter and the onions, celery, 2 tsp. salt and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft and starting to brown, approxi- mately 15 minutes. Add the vermouth and scrape the pan to dissolve The highly anticipated Holiday Dinner any browned bits. Remove vegetables to a large mixing bowl. is on December 14th, be sure to register early for In the skillet add 2 Tbl. of butter and sauté the mushrooms a spot. The Culinary Group dinners will resume with salt and pepper until they release their water and the water is in January. evaporated. Continue to cook to let the mushrooms brown, stirring Thanksgiving dinner is around the occasionally. Add mushrooms to the mixing bowl. Add the bread corner and in my family my Grandpa Bennett cubes to the mixing bowl along with the cherries, pine nuts, herbs, would try a new turkey dressing, each year try- and cayenne, and toss well. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with 3 ing to top the last. One year, with delight, he cups of the stock and ½ tsp. salt and stir to combine, and then pour said that he added a special “secret” ingredient into dressing. Mix well. If the dressing seems dry add more of the - mushrooms. There are many mushrooms one stock, the final mixture should be fairly wet. can use to enhance a Thanksgiving dinner but I prefer grifola frondosa, the nutty and earthy mai- Put dressing in a buttered 9” x 13” casserole dish and dot take. I think he would have enjoyed this elegant the top with 1 Tbl. butter, and cover with foil. Bake covered for 25 version of dressing from Chef Becky Selengut, minutes, then uncover and bake another 15 – 20 minutes until the author of Shroom, featuring the maitake. I top is golden brown. Serves 6-8 with roasted turkey, goose, a large like this dressing with the herb and garlic cured chicken, or pork chops. pancetta from Boccalone and Acme levain. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 6 Brain Chemistry and Mycophilia by Bob Sommer

In the May 2015 Atlantic, Sam Kean, author of “The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: the History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery” wrote an article about the physiological basis of exaggerated interests.

According to Kean, Dr. Andrew Lees a London neurologist and the world’s most highly cited Parkinson’s re- searcher, prescribed Pramipexole to several patients suffering from Parkinson’s, a disorder of the nervous system that causes difficulties with movement, muscle control, and balance. One of these patients was an anonymous 58-year-old naturalist who, after taking the drug, began “writing obsessively about mushrooms and toadstools—- sometimes for 48 hours straight.” The patient started distributing sandwiches to drug addicts he encountered while walking around London and giving away money. All these activities were unusual for the man. When Dr. Lees reduced the dosage of Pramipexole, the patient’s unusual indulgences declined. At a personal level, I hoped that Lee’s research could explain my obsession with all things fungal. I cannot walk around town without looking for mushrooms on watered lawns or around city trees, mushrooms which I am driven to collect, (sometimes illegally), paint, and, write about. I have over 600 scanned watercolors of fungi on the MSSF website with the originals housed in the MSSF library and hundreds more in file boxes at home. Friends and family cannot understand my preoccupation with fungi, most of which I don’t eat. I endure all manner of hardship — rain, mud, poison oak, ticks, and fear of arrest for trespassing or vandalism. When in the woods, I am always looking down at the ground, missing mountains and other scenery. I seek out year-old forest fires, traipsing through ugly burned areas covered with char in search of barely visible morels. The median number I have found per trip is zero, but no one writes about that. I learn Latin names which professional mycologists debate and change arbitrarily. My obsession has continued unabated for several decades. I also travel to distant locations in the company of fellow mycophiles to forage and discuss fungi we won’t be eating. In his Atlantic article Sam Kean wonders if this type of obsession is a form of mental derangement. Based on Lees’ patient’s mushroom craving which worsened after taking the drug and got better when the dosage was reduced, he answers the question affirmatively. Lees attributes this change to the drug’s role as a dopamine antagonist. The pleasure and reward centers are damaged in Parkinson’s, reducing the patient’s ability to enjoy life, and when the drug restores the balance and the dopamine starts flowing, this brings a rush of excitement, culminating in exaggerated interest in things. I am inclined to agree with Lee’s assessment. I experience a heightened mycophilia when the rainy season starts and withdrawal symptoms if I can’t get to the foothills or mountains. This condition has been exacerbated by the California drought where I have nothing to write or paint. I find myself using the writer’s gambit (as I am doing here); when blocked, write about not writing. Although I accept Kean’s argument that excessive interests may have a physiological basis, I don’t believe that mycophilia represents a condition that requires treatment. After all, gambling disorder is the only non-substance relat- ed addiction listed in the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual (DSM-V) used by the government and insurance companies to decide benefit claims. I am not sympathetic to the current diagnostic inflation, the tendency to medicalize ordinary human experience. When mushroom season comes around, I will to go into the woods rather than take a pill.

Bob Sommer rosommer @ucdavis.edu Mycena News, December 2015 Page 7 MSSF MENDOCINO WOODLANDS FORAY 2015 “Mendo Camp” by Curt Haney This year the annual MSSF Mendocino Foray/Camp attracted 140 members. Camp sold out this year in less than two days, and many MSSF members tried to sign-up for camp but were too late. I announce “Mendo Camp” every year by sending out an e-mail to all members telling them when the sign-up opportunity will begin on the MSSF website in September. Don’t wait to long next year, register as soon as soon as possible in order to be included. The camp motto for the last several years was “Food Forays & Fun” and this year it was no exception. The meals provided to us by Chef Deborah Dawson and her crew at “Good Thyme Catering” in Mendocino was fabulous as always. All of our meals were infused with wild mushrooms provided by Far West Fungi in San Francisco and gourmet mushrooms provided by Mycopia in Sebastopol who supplied a box of fresh cultivated mo- rels to camp from their farm in Michigan. In addition, Far West Fungi special delivered a box of 25 packages of their new product, Shiitake jerky, to camp. Nine forays were conducted by MSSF volunteer staff members, and our two guest speakers Gary Lincoff and Katrina Blair lead two of them. Last year a little over 100 species were brought into camp, this year it was closer to 150, identified by our camp mycologists, Noah Siegel and Fred Stevens with assistance from Gary Lincoff. Camp went well this year with many MSSF and SOMA members in attendance. The only choice edibles discovered were very small baby porcini and some tooth fungi. However, several beautiful large Sparassis and Chicken of the Woods were found. The guest speakers provided us with very interesting educational presentations and entertainment on both Friday and Saturday evenings. Katrina Blair gave an informative presentation on identifying and foraging for many of the various different wild foods available to us here in the forests of California. Gary Lincoff a three time guest speaker over the last eight years at camp came through again, with a very entertaining presentation which covered many topics including tales from the Telluride Magic Mushroom Festival. Other activities included: - A mushroom dye class conducted by Alissa Allen. - A great raffle of unique fungi related collectible items by Curt Haney. - A free tour of the Gourmet Mushroom farm, (Mycopia) in Sebastopol for a group of attendees on their way to camp on Friday. - A great mushroom cooking demonstration on Saturday afternoon which provided appetizers to all the returning hungry foragers. Included was a marvelous soup that included eight different kinds of mushrooms accompanied by grilled gourmet bread. The chefs, Andy & Gail Still & company, also grilled Matsutake, Shitake, and King Trumpet mushrooms for all to enjoy. Overall, it was another successful fall foray for the MSSF. I want to thank all the staff members and volun- teers. These selfless MSSF members are what make this annual event possible.

I am already planning “Mendo Camp” for 2016. Speakers for Saturday next year will be a co-talk by Daniel Winkler & Larry Evans. The speaker for Friday is still to be determined. See many of you all at camp next year!

continued on page 8 Mycena News, December 2015 Page 8 Mendo 2015 Species List (172 species) by Noah Siegel and Fred Stevens Agaricus arorae Gomphidius subroseus Pholiota brunnescens Agaricus deardorffensis Gomphus clavatus Pholiota terrestris Agaricus diminutivus group Gymnopilus junonius Pithya cupressi Agaricus semotus Gymnopilus punctifolius Pleurotus dryinus Agaricus smithii Gymnopilus sp. similar to G. sapineus Pleurotus ostreatus Agaricus sp. Gymnopus androsaceus Polyporus badius sensu western NA Alboleptonia (Entoloma) sericellum Gymnopus dryophilus Pseudohydnum gelatinosum Aleuria aurantia Gymnopus quercophilus Pulveroboletus ravenelii Amanita calyptroderma Gymnopus villosipes Ramaria acrisiccescens Amanita gemmata Hebeloma crustuliniforme group Ramaria araiospora Amanita muscaria Helvella vespertina Ramaria botrytis Amanita pachycolea Hemimycena spp. Ramaria cystidiophora Amanita smithiana Heterobasidion occidentale Ramaria Formosa Amanita vaginata group Hydnellum peckii Ramaria gelatiniaurantia Annulohypoxylon thouarsianum Hydnellum scrobiculatum group Ramaria rubiginosa Arrhenia epichysium Hydnum repandum Ramaria stricta Atheniella aurantiidisca Hydnum umbilicatum Ramaria stuntzii Auriscalpium vulgare Hygrocybe acutoconica Rhizopogon occidentalis Bolbitius aleuriatus Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca Rhizopogon ochraceorubens Boletus edulis Hypholoma fasciculare Rhodocollybia butyracea Boletus erythropus seusu CA Inocybe lilacina Roridomyces roridus Boletus mirabilis Jahnoporus hirtus Russula brevipes Boletus regineus Lactarius aestivus Russula californiensis Campanella 'veiny' Lactarius alnicola Russula fragilis Cantharellus formosus Lactarius rubrilacteus Russula fragrantissima Cantharellus subalbidus Lactarius xanthogalactus Russula sanguinea Caulorhiza umbonata Lentaria pinicola group Russula xerampelina Chalciporus piperatus Lepiota cristata Schizophyllum commune Cheimonophyllum candidissimum Lepiota flammeotincta Scleroderma polyrhizum Chlorociboria aeruginascens Lepiota sequoiarum Skeletocutis nivea Chondrostereum purpureum Leptonia carnea Sparassis radicata Chroogomphus tomentosus Leucoagaricus rubrotinctoides Stereum hirsutum Chroogomphus vinicolor Lycoperdon pyriforme Stereum ochraceoflavum Clitocybe trullaeformis Lyophyllum Strobilurus trullisatus Clitopilus prunulus Lyophyllum decastes group Suillus caerulescens Conocybe sp. Marasmius plicatulus Suillus lakei Coprinus comatus Melanoluca sp. Suillus ponderosus Coprinus comatus Micromphale sequoiae Suillus pungens Cortinariua largentii Mycena abramsii Suillus umbonatus Cortinarius cyanites Mycena adscendens Tapinella atrotomentosa Cortinarius laniger group Mycena aurantiomarginata Tapinella panuoides Cortinarius ponderosus Mycena capillaripes Teprocybe Craterellus tubaeformis Mycena citrinomarginata Tetrapyrgos subdendrophora Crepidotus mollis Mycena epipterygia Trametes betulina Crepidotus sp. Mycena haematopus Trametes versicolor Dacrymyces chrysospermus Mycena maculata Tremella aurantia Entoloma bloxamii Mycena oregonensis Trichaptum abietinum Fistulina hepatica Mycena pura Turbinellus floccosus Fomitopsis cajanderi Mycena purpureofusca Tylopilus humilis Fomitopsis pinicola Mycena tenerrima Xerocomellus chrysenteron group Galerina badipes Nectriopsis violacea Xerocomellus mendocinensis Ganoderma applanatum Nidula candida Xerocomellus zelleri Ganoderma oregonense Onnia triquetra Xeromphalina campanella Geastrum saccatum Panellus stipticus Xeromphalina cauticinalis Geastrum sp. Panus conchatus Xeromphalina fulvipes Gibellula sp. Phaeolus schweinitzii Xylaria hypoxylon Gomphidius oregonensis Phlebia tremellosa Mycena News, December 2015 Page 9 MycoMendoMondo Report by Wendy So MycoMendoMondo is an after hours Mendocino Camp event lead by Ken Litchfield and David Gardella where the sleepless campers take over the kitchen and experiment with various edible and quasi edible mushrooms collected during the day. While snacking on candy cap honey butter smoked salt popcorn, folks sampled these mushrooms in the 2015 MycoMendoMondo: scarlet lace chanterelle, Ramaria botrytis or possibly botrytoides accord- ing to Norm, shaggy mane, Suillis, porcini, a batch of cultivated morels from Gourmet Mushrooms, and a comparison tasting of Leccinum manzanitae vs Boletus edulis. The mushrooms for tasting were all cooked the same, sliced and sautéed with butter and finished with a little plain salt and pepper except for the Amanita muscaria, which was sliced and boiled for 10 minutes in five times the amount of water once, then drained and sautéed until lightly brown like the other mushrooms. Everyone enjoyed tasting mushrooms they had never tasted before and no one reported any adverse reaction to the mushrooms. Some preferred the Leccinum over the porcini but taste is in the tongue of the beholder.

Besides mushroom tasting, David provided home made and commercial samples of several meads, and the night owls experimented with wild mushrooms with wild ingredients like sparasis fritters with acorn flour (gluten- free), and explored making a mushroom dessert like candy-cap coconut ice-cream. Because there was an abundance of chicken of the woods (COW), they were precooked by slicing and boiling and distributed to everyone to take home to cook as they pleased. Thank you Amanda, for sharing your COW excess and helpers for preparing them for everyone. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 10

Announcements / Events

MSSF Volunteers Needed for MSSF Fungus Fair 2015 Urban Park Quick Start Forays! There are still volunteer spots left for the local The MSSF Education Committee is planning forays fungi collection forays on December 5th and the for people new to, or interested in, local mushrooms. These day of the fair on December 6th. Please check the forays are intended to familiarize beginners with field collect- mssf website for details or contact Brennan Wenck ing and characters useful in helping to identify mushrooms ([email protected]) and other fungi. We usually gather for an orientation to go over collecting policies, practices and etiquette. We also point Volunteering is a great way to spend some quality out nearby locations where fungi are likely to be found. After time at the fair, and your entry to the fair is free! the orientation, we break out into smaller groups & hunt for Not to mention, you get a bonus meal from our fresh fungi for one to two hours. On returning, we display delicious volunteer buffet. specimens collected and discuss their key identifying charac- ters. Volunteers also get a special dinner on Sunday, February 7th, 2016 to thank everyone for partici- The next foray is planned for Saturday, December 5, at pating with MSSF! McLaren Park. We will meet in the parking lot for the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater on John Shelley Drive in McLaren Park at 9:30 a.m. Fungi that are collected on the December 5 foray will be brought to the San Francisco County Fair Building in The Holiday Dinner Committee is Golden Gate Park for display at the Mycological Society of San looking for two volunteers to do the Francisco’s annual Fungus Fair on Sunday, December 6. heavy lifting part of the set-up and take-down, plus some help in serving, New MSSF members, families and guests, beginners or not, for a free dinner. are welcome. Non-members of the MSSF are also welcome. It is hoped that the forays will provide information about local If interested, e-mail Eric at fungi and stir an interest to learn more. [email protected].

Email Paul Koski at [email protected] for details about Winners of the Esther Colton Whited and these forays and to be put on the foray list. Dr. Harry Thiers Scholarship Announced

Congratulations to Laura Bogar from Stan- Herbal Mead Making ford University and Miko Nadel from San Francisco State University for being awarded 7pm-10:30ish Every Wednesday Night the scholarship offered by the Mycological at Omni Labs Society of San Francisco. Laura is studying 4799 Shattuck, Oakland the mutualistic relationship between plants Contact [email protected] for more information and fungi, called mycorrhizae. Miko is creat- ing a monograph of a genus of lichen from A new 501c non-profit called the Atlantic islands of São Tomé and Prínci- the Mycological Society of Marin County is formed! pe. They will receive $1000 each, to be used to help them achieve their advanced degree. The first meeting will be held at the Mill Valley library on Both students will present their work to the December 16, 2015 at 6:30 PM. Society at a later time. For more information call Kevin Sadlier at 415-389-8333. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 11 MSSF Fungus Fair 2015 Poster Mycena News, December 2015 Page 12 MSSF Fungus Fair 2015 Special Guests Talks

“Mushrooms Demythified” by David Arora, an American mycologist and author. David Arora has written several books and articles, the best known of which are “Mushrooms De- mystified” and “All That the Rain Promises, and More.” Most recently he was a major contributor to a special ethnomycological issue of Economic Botany, a journal published by the New York Botanical Garden. David founded the Santa Cruz Fungus Fair in 1975. His interests range from mushroom harvest and usage around the world to mushroom ecology, taxonomy, cuisine, foraging culture and storytelling. All of these subjects are likely to be touched upon during the talk.

“The Gardener’s Guide to Mushroom Cultivation” by Ken Litchfield Ken Litchfield began his career as a botanist, biological illustrator, and instructor as a student in the art and biology departments at Texas State University. Ken is currently a naturalist with a professional background working and teaching in science, writing, technical illustration, com- puter graphics, photography, lapidary, and human health and fitness. He consults, in- structs, and trains at various organizations, institutions, and homesteads. For over 15 years he has been the Cultivation Chair for the Mycological Society of San Francisco, and incorporates the fermentation arts into his activities and teachings at Counter Culture Labs on Wed eves. At community college level Ken has taught Mushroom Cultivation, Beneficial Beasts in the Garden and Landscape, and Growing and Using Healthful Herbs, basic “applied biology” utilizing the Mushroom, Animal, and Plant Kingdoms and their interrelationships in the garden and landscape.

“Mycopsychedelia: The Magic Mushrooms” by Britt Bunyard, PhD Britt Bunyard is the founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of the mycology journal Fungi which has the largest circulation of any mycological publication in North America. He also has worked as a full-time Biology professor in Ohio and Wisconsin, teaching a broad range of un- dergraduate and graduate courses in Evolution, Microbiology, Mycology, Invertebrate Zoology, Biochemistry, and Environmental Science. This talk is for general audiences with no need for advanced mycological education. The presentation will discuss the science and lore, with lots of pretty images, of psychedelic mushrooms…their dis- covery, their chemistry, their legal / illegal status, and where they occur worldwide. A particular emphasis will be on the genus Psilocybe as this group is the most well- known for their psychotropic properties and most recently have gotten a great deal of attention for potential as a powerful therapeutic.

“Mushrooms from Sierra Nevada” by J.R. Blair J.R. Blair is a lecturer in biology at San Francisco State University and the director of the SFSU Sierra Nevada Field Campus near Yuba Pass. He obtained his Masters degree in 1999 studying under the MSSF Science Advisor, Dr. Dennis Desjardin. His thesis was Fungi Associated with Arctostaphylos in Central California. He has been a member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco since 1983. He was the president of the MSSF 2007-2009 and was the Fungus Fair chairperson for five fairs at all three of the recent venues: Oakland Museum of California, Lawrence Hall of Science and San Francisco County Fair Building. He has been teaching mushroom identification workshops for MSSF for about five years. Currently he is a lecturer of biology at SFSU and is the director of the University’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 13 MSSF Fungus Fair 2015 Program

Last year, our naturalistic woodland display and tables featured more than 300 identified species of locally collected fungi.

Come and participate in the hands-on activities including: • Mushroom crafts • Mushroom dyes • Do-it-your-self mushroom growing kits • Bring your mushrooms to the identification table to find out what you found • Visit our educational tables and learn all about mushrooms: • Medicinal mushrooms • Myco-remediation • Mushroom cultivation • Ecology of mushrooms • Lichens • Psychedelic fungi • Mushroom Toxicology

Mushroom identification using microscope and spore prints

Enjoy cooking demonstrations from culinary experts and savor delicious wild mushroom soups!

Check out our mushroom- and nature-themed vendors: • Angela Mele Art • Barefoot Naturalist Press • Far West Fungi • Friendly Fungus Photographer • FUNGI Magazine • Gayle Lee Still Fiber Arts • Julie Himes Science Illustration • Just Mushroom Stuff • King of Mushrooms • Maclean Custom Screen Printing • Mushroom Adventures • San Francisco Glass Guild • The Illustration Company • Wine Forest Wild Foods

Fungus Fair program is subject to change. Please check MSSF.org website for the latest schedule and program. Mycena News, December 2015 Page 14 Fungal Jumble Stocking Stuffer ideas Wendy So by Gadget Gal

Instructions: Unscramble the first five clues themed on the title. Are you looking for gifts for your colorful The orange highlighted letters will give you an anagram for the fellow mycophiles? Here are a few hot stocking answer to the question on the bottom. stuffer options for different types of mushroom hunters. COASTAL MUSHROOM MECCAS IN CALIFORNIA For the stylish huntress, the perfect holi- day gift is a Kate Spade Amanita muscaria clutch (https://www.katespade.com/products/blaze-a- trail-mushroom-clutch/PXRU6101.html). Don’t underestimate this fancy purse with a hefty price tag. It’s a must for picking small mushrooms like the candy cap in high heels and a frilly dress. If one forgets the candy caps in the clutch, you will have a maple syrup-scented bag for life. I once created a candy cap-flavored Chap Stick when I accidently left candy caps in my backpack for over a month. For the sweet mushroom hunter, a Mari- oBros one-up mushroom tin filled with miniature mushroom-shaped candies will be a handy treat on the trek. [insert pic] Isn’t this cute? Once all the candy is consumed, you can refill the tin or reuse it for your redwood cone collection, or as a jewelry case. For some of us, mushroom hunting can be stressful when there aren’t any mushrooms to be found; especially after hours of driving, followed by a seemingly long hike. You know that ‘shiitake feeling’? Worry not because there is an ease-your- stress mushroom to the rescue (http://www.fire- box.com/product/6711/Stress-Mushrooms). You can squeeze and stretch these mushrooms to your heart’s delight and they pop right back into their original shape. When you are done with it, you can bury it in the wood for the next mushroom hunter to use. There are 4 different kinds of stress mush- rooms to choose from: fly agaric, matsutake, king trumpet or enoki. Perfect stocking stuffer for that special someone you know who may need one or two of these.

Do you have a mushroom-theme game or Photo by Christian Schwarz puzzle you would like to share? Answers in the January 2016 issue Please send them to [email protected] Mycena News, December 2015 Page 15 Cultivation Quarters Ken Litchfield The last few MN issues we have been talking about the different lifestyles of mushrooms for cultivation pur- poses. Just to review, these are: • Saprobic – those mushrooms that live on dead stuff like raw cellulose in the dead heartwood of tree trunks, wood chips, wood shavings, sawdust, straw, or cardboard or broken down cellulose like duff, compost, or manure. Ex- amples of the first would be oysters, crabalone, reishi, chicken- and hen-of the woods, garden giant, and stink horns, and the second would be shaggy parasol, shaggy mane, and button mushrooms. • Mycorrhizal – those mushrooms that need a tree host symbiont for mutual nutritional benefit like the oak or the pine. Examples of the fruit of the oak would be chanterelles, candy caps, amethystinas, and death caps. Examples of the fruit of the pine would be porcinis, Santas, and slippery Jacks. • Parasitic – those mushrooms that take their nutrition from a living host such as a plant, animal, or another fungus. Examples of these would be huitlacoche on maize, Cordyceps on caterpillars, and pine spikes on slippery jacks. • Opportunistic – Those mushrooms that may have more than one form of nutritional sustenance in the same stage of its life cycle like the honey mushroom or the morel. This doesn’t include huitlacoche which is parasitic on maize in one stage of its life cycle and saprobic on soil humus in the other stage. We have been discussing saprobic mushrooms mostly up to this point but this month we’ll focus on mycorrhi- zal mushrooms due to our special holiday season botanical gifts that happen to be perfect for mycorrhizal mushroom cultivation. Just after the end of the gift giving holiday when most everything surplus is on severe markdown to a more realistic price, you may find in the nursery section of hardware stores, drugstores, or big box chains those leftover holiday trees that are no longer in demand for display purposes. Primarily you’ll find Italian stone pine, a type of nut pine that can produce edible pignolias. You might also find other pine species or perhaps young Deodar cedars or other ornamental conifers that can act as the host for fruit of the root of the pine type mushrooms. You can also often find wintergreen plants that have evergreen leaves, white flowers, and red berries, all of which have the wintergreen flavor in them. Wintergreen is a member of the Ericaceae, the blueberry family, which includes azaleas, rhododendrons, madrones, and manzanitas many of which have their own mycorrhizal mushrooms and which might adopt the wintergreen. Whatever trees you might get at this time of year, on discount or intentionally buying special selections at a nursery or transplanting from elsewhere, you have two main options for growing them in your garden - in the ground and in containers. Both ways you could inoculate them with the slurries of spores and mushroom flesh of the mycorrhizal mush- rooms you want. If you plant them in the ground you can keep them relatively small and attractive by careful aesthetic pruning or by growing in containers like bonsai. Either way you can have your own pygmy forest that can produce mycorrhizal mushrooms. Whether in the ground or in a container you can plant several species of conifers and hard- woods together to simulate the conditions of a mixed forest. With more species of trees intertwining their roots there is a greater likelihood that the mushrooms that you inoculate the trees with can find a niche to adopt. To simulate the forest duff conditions and enhance the likelihood of getting slurries of mushrooms to “take,” you should maintain a thick mulch of wood chips, leaves, pine needles, oak leaves, and other aesthetically uniform organic materials. With six inches to one foot of mulch the trees roots are more likely to grow up into the lower layers of decaying mulch. Periodically during the rainy season mushroom harvest you will have old mushrooms, and dam- aged parts of prime mushrooms that you want to have growing in your garden. These mushrooms and parts you put into a blender of water and blend briefly to grind up the flesh and make a spore and flesh slurry. Rake the mulch away from under the canopy of the trees to a depth that stirs up and gently damages the tree roots to better expose them to the fungal materials in the slurry. The slurry is sprinkled and sloshed around under the canopy of the trees and then watered into the mulchy soil. The raked mulch is then replaced and also watered to settle it into place. The spores and mushroom flesh both could potentially find a root to interact with. The mushroom flesh is cloned from the mushroom genetics of the mycorrhizal mushrooms used in the slurry and could potentially jump directly to the roots.

Continued on page 16 Mycena News, December 2015 Cultivation Quarters continued Page 16 The spores will be mixed new genetics each of which would sprout and grow into a haploid mycelium seeking another haploid mate. When they find each other and mate they will then grow into a new diploid mycelium that can interact with the roots of the tree host. While haploid they are likely saprobic on the dead organic matter in the mulch or parasitic on little organisms in the mulch. The new diploid mycelium that is produced from the haploid mating is likely parasitic on the haploid parents until it finds the mycorrhizal host tree root that it can interact with symbioti- cally. The container plants are potentially easier to inoculate with slurries as the roots are captive within the con- tainer and often exposed where they meet the edges of the container especially if they get potbound. You only need to lift the root ball from the container dip it into the spore/flesh slurry to have germinating spores and flesh coming into contact with the exposed roots, and slip it back into the container. Some folks recommend adding molasses to the slurry water and adding an aquarium air bubbler to aerate the slurry for several days so the spores and the mycelium germinate and grow for several days before inoculation. This is unlikely to do anything but add a bloom of yeasts and bacteria to the slurry. Holding and aerating the slurry for any length of time is only likely to produce a collection of organisms adapted to an aerated liquid culture and not to the duff under the trees. It would be better to pour the freshly made slurry directly into the ground at the exposed roots, rather than have an unnatural incubation period.

Mushroom Sightings

Armillaria mellea (Oakland Hills) Pleurotus ostreatus (Oakland Hills)

Coprinus comatus (San Francisco) Boletus edulis (San Francisco) Mycena News, December 2015 Page 17 MSSF Calendar December 2015 MSSF Volunteer Opportunities Saturday, December 5, 9:30 a.m. - noon- Quick Start Foray Join the Council leadership, learn the inner workings of Local San Francisco foray in McLaren Park. Meet in Jerry Garcia the MSSF and help make decisions that shape the future of Amphitheater Parking Lot on John Shelley Drive. the society. Do your part by contributing your time to this Advance registration required at mssf.org. 100% volunteer organization! Sunday, December 6, 10:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. - MSSF Fungus Fair To learn more about all council and committee positions, go Hall of Flowers, County Fair Building to: www.mssf.org members-only area, file archives, council Golden Gate Pk., 9th & Lincoln, S.F. member position descriptions. Or email president@mssf. org. Monday, December 14, 7:00pm - 9:30 pm - Holiday Dinner Hall of Flowers, County Fair Building Volunteers Wanted Now: Golden Gate Pk., 9th & Lincoln, S.F. - Fungus Fair 2015 (visit mssf.ivolunteer.com) New chef, great food! Members who bring appetizers will be en- - Librarian tered in special prize lottery. - Mycena News layout assistant. Familiarity with Adobe InDesign a plus. Monday, January 4, 7:00 p.m. - Culinary Group Dinner Hall of Flowers, County Fair Building Contact [email protected] for details. Golden Gate Pk., 9th & Lincoln, S.F. Advance registration required at mssf.org. Email [email protected] to volunteer. Check the MSSF online calendar at: Councilors for the 2015-2016 term http://www.mssf.org/calendar/index.php for full details, latest updates Councilors: (1 year term) Julia Cabral and Joe Soeller and schedule changes. (2 year term) Tyler Taunton and Madhu Kottalam

Mycological Society of San Francisco The Randall Museum - 199 Museum Way, SF, CA 94114 Submit to Mycena News! The submission deadline for the January December 2015, vol. 67:4 2016 issue is December 15th. Send all articles, calendar items and other information to: [email protected] Mycena News is the members’ newsletter of the MSSF Officers 2015-2016 Mycological Society of San Francisco, published Contributors: monthly from September to May. Paul Koski President: Brennan Wenck Heather Lunan [email protected] Please e-mail photos, comments, corrections, Bob Sommer and correspondence to [email protected] Wendy So Vice-President: Jackie Shay Curt Haney To subscribe, renew, or make address changes, [email protected] please contact Ken Litchfield Zachary Mayes: Brennan Wenck-Reilly Secretary: Eric Multhaup [email protected] Editing and Layout: [email protected] Ken Litchfield Past issues of Mycena News can be read online Treasurer: Henry Shaw at www.mssf.org Wendy So Carol Hellums [email protected] Pascal Pelous